UBC Reports Extras | Oct. 5, 2007
Alex Bookbinder, a first-year arts student at UBC, has learnt more about international relations, politics and media in the past weeks than many people will learn in a lifetime. Bookbinder is the Canadian student responsible for creating the Facebook group Support the Monks’ Protest in Burma that has helped focus public support and media attention on the crackdown by the Burmese military regime on peaceful demonstrations.
Bookbinder has become somewhat of an unofficial figurehead for Canadian support of Burma. He has been flown to Ottawa by Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB), a non-profit organization working for the establishment of democracy and human rights in Burma, to attend a press conference at Parliament Hill. He has been interviewed by BBC, CBC, Global TV and the Toronto Star and has been approached by CNN.
“People needed a way to express their support,” Bookbinder said in an interview with UBC Public Affairs. “Many people wanted to take action and some were seeking to share information, even people from Rangoon were posting news prior to the Internet shutdown.”
Since September 340,000 members have joined the Facebook group and global protests in 30 countries are being promoted via the site. It provides information, such as ‘Ten things you can do to help the protesters’ and links to numerous activist groups worldwide.
Bookbinder visited Burma this summer and what he observed has stayed with him. When he returned to Canada, two weeks prior to commencing an undergraduate degree at UBC, he started a Facebook group to keep his friends and family updated on what was happening.
“I had no expectations of generating so much interest, I was just worried about the people in Burma,” said Bookbinder. “It [the Facebook group] was a grassroots thing to create some awareness of what was happening.”
For Bookbinder it has been an interesting start to first-year university and he is keen to stay focused on his formal studies. “I want to get back to UBC to continue what I started,” he said. “I’ve got so many new skills and perspectives on human rights from this experience.”
Bookbinder moved from Toronto to Vancouver to study at UBC. He is currently enrolled in history, political science and economics. In the future Bookbinder hopes to work in international relations.
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